I finally jumped on this train. Too many people told me I had to watch ... yet it's hard to explain to someone WHY to watch it. Which is prolly why I am 4-5 years late on this.

Just got done with the second season on Blu-Ray. Draper's wife just found out he was zocking half of NY proper, and also found out she's pregnant with #3. The Draper/Dick Whitman thing is coming into focus. Sterling is leaving his wife for the 20 year old secretary ... which helped play into the sale/merger of Sterling Cooper to the large London ad agency, who plans to install Doug Phillips as President, which has Draper ready to leave. The Peggy/Weasly Pete Campbell storylines also finally crossed paths in the finale of season #2 as he told her he loved her and she told him she wasn't interested and had his baby.

The girl Draper got with on the LA business trip where he abandoned Campbell is one of the ten hottest chicks I've seen in my life.

Just about to dig into season three. It's all I think about.

I am blown away at how good this show is. The writing, acting, charachter development, dialogue, eye candy ... all off the charts good.

Right up there with The Wire and Six Feet Under for the greatest hour drama ever created.

(Not counting Band of Brothers and The Pacific)

Just an amazing show. The Don Draper character is outstanding. I love characters than you shouldn't pull for, but you find yourself pulling for anyway.

No spoilers please for seasons 3 & 4. When does season #5 start?

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns

Yeah, it may be between one to three months later starting in 2011 than most years.

But that's really no different from some other cable series like the Sopranos. There is no question that season 5 is coming...it's just that the studio bosses are too busy trying to get their greedy hands on as much $$ as they can first.

I just picked up Season 3 on Blu Ray to re-watch it.

It's funny on closer inspection how much more of a total beyotch Betty becomes.

It's a toss up between which "non-villian" character on a series that I hate more; Betty Draper or Bill Henrickson (Bill Paxton) from Big Love.

Oh...and Swerb is dead nuts on regarding the girl in California. "Joy" was her name...and was she ever.

Just caught up on Mad Men last year and it was well worth the effort. Season 4 takes Mad Men to a new level. Goes from period piece to amazing character study.

Half way through season 2 of Breaking Bad thus far and it is worth catching up on as well (even though that cunt ass wife may ruin the show for me. I am so sick of Skylar at this point she makes me yearn for a Betty Draper appearance).

Watch Mad Men and Breaking Bad. Get away from shit like Dexter which was awesome for a year and then turned itself into a procedural (only should have wasted your time watching seasons 1 and 4 of it)

Oh and Peeks I've been on Weeds for the entire duration. Hated season 5 but it takes a sick individual to still be on board. Went from a comedy to literally a dark and dreary family study. Great show if only for how well it has evolved amidst the changes and budget cuts.

I'm about to start season 5 of the Wire. The series as a whole is probably the best thing I've ever seen on TV start to finish. And I think season 4 was the best one so far. Just an awesome awesome season of television.

But

Breaking Bad season 3 is THE BEST season in history IMO. That series just gets so. fucking. dark. Bryan Cranston is his usual perfect Walt and gives a great performance. But Aaron Paul sets the bar. One of my favorite performances ever on screen.

There are numerous parts of season 3 that I watched with my jaw on the floor. I couldn't believe what I was seeing or had just seen. There were times when I actually yelled out "Oh My God!" at the screen. And I'm generally not one of those guys.

Man, I wish I could go back and watch it again for the first time. I'm so jealous of you guys.

Bra - you have no idea how excited I am to go Season 4 of The Wire (Best Ever) against Season 4 of Mad Men (close societal win by The Wire) and Season 3 of Breaking Bad. That said I am going to fucking kill myself if I have to watch the pregnant bitch cry again. Breaking bad is so raw but it's almost too raw with her. I'm at the point where I fast-forward.

Agree on all accounts. Picked up Mad Men after Thanksgiving and finished all three seasons in about a month. Breaking Bad has been replaying on AMC and it's got to the point where I'd cook up my own crystal meth if they'd just release season 3 on blu ray; don't know if I can stand just 2 episodes a week as this Wednesday will have the finale of season 2.

The Wire is, for me, still the gold standard. Seasons 3 and 4 are monumental.

Finally caught up on Breaking Bad and I don't think I'd put it ahead of The Wire or Mad Men.

Season 3 is the only reason it's even in the conversation (and it is up there with those two). Half of the prior two seasons is literally nothing but listening to Skylar whine.

Great acting. Incredible production. Strangely paced and spends too much time writing Skylar as the most annoying TV character ever for the first two seasons (she finally doesn't suck once she gets a pair in season 3).

The product placement I can look beyond as long as they make it just as seamless as is within the natural storytelling. But cutting more cast members? Show's gonna lose a big part of it's dynamic without characters like Ken Cosgrove and Lane Pryce. It's definitely gonna lose its soul without Weiner. But the guy's playin big time hardball goin fuckin skying in the middle of negotiations.

rebelwithoutaclue wrote:In happier news, season 4 is out on Blu-Ray today. Already pre-ordered so should be there when I'm off work.

Sweet. Got like 3 episodes left to watch in season 3.

Think it was actually your post rebel, about the Amazon deal on season 1 that finally got me to jump on board.

Aye, probably one of the best deals I've ever seen, anywhere. 3 seasons of one of the top 2-3 shows on TV for less than 30 bucks, and on blu-ray no less. I blew through all of them by mid-January and have been eagerly awaiting this release. Just finished the 3rd season of Breaking Bad as well so I'm all caught up on the AMC shows, of course just in time for my heart to be broken by the Mad Men delay. Breaking Bad should come soon enough though.

rebelwithoutaclue wrote:In happier news, season 4 is out on Blu-Ray today. Already pre-ordered so should be there when I'm off work.

Sweet. Got like 3 episodes left to watch in season 3.

Think it was actually your post rebel, about the Amazon deal on season 1 that finally got me to jump on board.

Final episode of Season 3 might have been the Best. Ever.

Just started watching Season 4 again on Blu-Ray yesterday...gonna pay more attention this time to Don's self destruction, and how Betty has become my most hated character on TV right from the first scene.

For those of you, like me, who are going through "Mad Men" withdrawal, I point you to an FX show titled "Justified" with Timothy Olyphant as a Kentucky marshal. Based on and Elmore Leonard short story, the characters are unique and fully drawn -- with enough conflict for any five shows. Best drama on TV right now.

For those of you, like me, who are going through "Mad Men" withdrawal, I point you to an FX show titled "Justified" with Timothy Olyphant as a Kentucky marshal. Based on and Elmore Leonard short story, the characters are unique and fully drawn -- with enough conflict for any five shows. Best drama on TV right now.

No doubt Jerry. I love that show. Probably my favorite on TV right now, until Louie and Breaking Bad return anyway.

My call - Draper's marriage starts out fantabulous. Betty's continues to deteriorate ... to the point where Draper gets more custody of the kids, with Megan knocking it out of the park as step mom.

Then it will all start to fall to shit for Don about 2/3 of the way into the season. No way they can have this marriage go well for him, right?

Keep remembering the line the hot blonde consultant gal said to Draper last season - "You only like the beginning of things". Also remember the tense scene in the kitchen of the old empty house between Betty and Don, with Betty seemingly longing for a reunion of her marriage w Don ... just before Draper hit her with the Megan Bomb and told her he was getting remarried.

Also be interesting to see what they do with the Pete, Peggy, and Joan/Sterling storylines.

And Freddie has GOTTA start drinking again. Please.

Can. Not. Effing. Wait.

Half tempted to take Mon the 26th off and throw a watch party somewhere.

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns

My call - Draper's marriage starts out fantabulous. Betty's continues to deteriorate ... to the point where Draper gets more custody of the kids, with Megan knocking it out of the park as step mom.

Then it will all start to fall to shit for Don about 2/3 of the way into the season. No way they can have this marriage go well for him, right?

Keep remembering the line the hot blonde consultant gal said to Draper last season - "You only like the beginning of things". Also remember the tense scene in the kitchen of the old empty house between Betty and Don, with Betty seemingly longing for a reunion of her marriage w Don ... just before Draper hit her with the Megan Bomb and told her he was getting remarried.

Also be interesting to see what they do with the Pete, Peggy, and Joan/Sterling storylines.

And Freddie has GOTTA start drinking again. Please.

Can. Not. Effing. Wait.

Half tempted to take Mon the 26th off and throw a watch party somewhere.

My call - Draper's marriage starts out fantabulous. Betty's continues to deteriorate ... to the point where Draper gets more custody of the kids, with Megan knocking it out of the park as step mom.

Then it will all start to fall to shit for Don about 2/3 of the way into the season. No way they can have this marriage go well for him, right?

Keep remembering the line the hot blonde consultant gal said to Draper last season - "You only like the beginning of things". Also remember the tense scene in the kitchen of the old empty house between Betty and Don, with Betty seemingly longing for a reunion of her marriage w Don ... just before Draper hit her with the Megan Bomb and told her he was getting remarried.

Also be interesting to see what they do with the Pete, Peggy, and Joan/Sterling storylines.

And Freddie has GOTTA start drinking again. Please.

Can. Not. Effing. Wait.

Half tempted to take Mon the 26th off and throw a watch party somewhere.

What about Henry's political career?

Can you see Betty as Calista Gingrinch meets McClain's wife or what?

I was to see Sally come of age in the 60's. That's the wildest potential sub plot to me in the context of Henry as political and Betty as ice bitch posing as pol wife.

That and Don and Megan getting it on in a 3 way with Faye. Either one is fine.

JB - I could see that with Betty ... the evil political wife. Henry forced to stay with her to further his political career. Either that or the marriage continues to go to shit and dies. Betty was way too good a heel character to really chart out any other path for her.

Re: Sally, what an amazing acting performance from the girl that played her, and you're right ... her entering her adolescent years in the 60's is a great sub plot. Free love, LSD, the Merry Pranksters and all that.

"It's like dating a woman who hates you so much she will never break up with you, even if you burn down the house every single autumn." ~ Chuck Klosterman on Browns fans relationship with the Browns